Canelo Alvarez during his media day in Los Angeles on Sunday (Photo: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos)

By Chris Robinson

On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 26, former two-division champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin held an open media workout in front of thousands at the Banc of California Stadium ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch on Sep. 15. Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KO’s) will face Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KO’s) from the T=Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in an HBO pay per view telecast that has bad blood attached to it.

The two camps have been going back and forth with one another in the press for several months now and for Canelo, this isn’t just another prize fight.
“We’re getting close to the fight, and I feel good,” Alvarez stated. “This fight is personal because of all that’s been said, and it will be difficult to regain the respect that we once had. The statements that have been made about me have given me more motivation to train harder. I have watched the first fight several times. The error that I made was that I had opportunities to counter that I needed to have taken advantage of. I need to do that in the rematch.”

Golovkin started strong in the first match in September of last year, but Alvarez stayed composed and worked his way into the fight in the second half of the match. After 12 rounds, a split-draw verdict was given.

“Like I’ve said many times, the first fight gave me the guideline for the second fight,” Canelo said. “I know that I can do many things in the ring against him. I know that I can hurt him. I hurt him in the first fight, and I’m going to hurt him even more in the second fight. My objective is the knockout and I’ll be looking for that from the opening round.”

As noted, things have gotten personal ever since Canelo tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Clenbuterol prior to their scheduled rematch in May. Alvarez was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, thus the rematch was scrapped, as Golovkin went on to knock out junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan on that May date instead, but in California. Golovkin’s camp took several shots at Alvarez in the press, and so too has Alvarez fired salvos of his own, especially about the style that “GGG” brings into the ring.

“There is no such thing as a Mexican style,” said Alvarez. “There have been many fighters from Mexico with different styles. My style is mine. I’m Mexican and that’s what is important. Maybe Golovkin uses ‘Mexican Style’ to get fans, but he’s a hypocrite. If something were to happen in Mexico, he wouldn’t be there to support them.”